Scottie Pippen recommits to $BALL project amid backlash

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial sector, I must say that the situation surrounding Scottie Pippen’s Ethereum project, BALL, leaves me more than just a little skeptical. The red flags are waving so hard they could be mistaken for a Chicago Bulls banner at the United Center.


Following crypto analysts and specialists flagging suspicious behavior regarding the token, NBA legend Scottie Pippen increased his commitment to his Ethereum initiative in an attempt to bolster trust.

The controversial BALL project initiated by Pippen using Ethereum was unveiled on August 2, but it received swift criticism from the community. Within hours, users added cautionary comments to Pippen’s announcement post on platform X, advising potential investors to be wary of the alleged real-world asset endeavor.

1) ZachXBT, a detective in the crypto world, pointed out that the address used to deploy BALL has been linked to wallets involved in at least two previous scams, often referred to as ‘rug pulls’ in the web3 community. Additionally, ZachXBT mentioned that Pippen introduced a non-fungible token last year when the NFT market was cooling down, which ultimately flopped and is generally seen as another example of a rug pull.

The deployment address for BALL appears linked to the dormant LilHippoNFT project, and it’s associated with the individual known as ItsMrMoe.

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) August 1, 2024

A cryptocurrency analyst shared information indicating that Pippen and a developer’s wallet transferred approximately $330,000 worth of BALL tokens in one transaction. In reaction, the six-time NBA champion asserted that they withdrew about 103 Ether (ETH) to “lessen potential attacks” as they faced intense scrutiny from the crypto community.

It seems that a person, presumably a developer, carelessly transferred $330,000 directly from the development wallet into one transaction. The lack of attempt to conceal this action is quite amusing, as if they were intentionally revealing the so-called “rug” pull.

— Wazz (@WazzCrypto) August 1, 2024

Despite Pippen’s attempt to allay suspicions, his post didn’t succeed, as social media users countered with evidence indicating that more than 15% of the BALL company’s stock was owned by insiders within the BALL organization.

Despite numerous unsuccessful projects and controversies associated with celebrity-backed crypto initiatives, public figures continue to show interest in Web3. Notably, the majority of recent launches have taken place on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. As reported by crypto.news, approximately 30 celebrity memecoins made their debut on Solana last month. Unfortunately, many of these projects failed, causing distress among users and fueling growing resentment towards celebrities entering this space.

Read More

2024-08-03 01:20